That blog entry showed a bit more reality and personality than most I've seen or even made. Not that it was anything exceptional, but neither is most of the other stuff people post.posted by mutagen at 12:51 PM on October 16, 2000

I just hope it's not the milestone life event she makes it out to be.posted by tomorama at 1:55 PM on October 16, 2000

Hey Skallas...

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to mock this fledgling blogger. With any luck, she'll see your post, and be so embarrassed that she'll never again share her day with us. She might even CRY! (Won't that be cool?) Then your work will be done. (I hope).

Boo hoo, I though it was funny. No you're right, we should be deadly serious 24x7 so no one's feelings get hurt.posted by skallas at 2:47 PM on October 16, 2000

I peg the writer's age at about 5 or 6. Kids that age should be encouraged to express themselves in writing. Their work should be proudly posted on school bulletin boards and on family refrigerators. It should probably not, for the children's sake as well as ours, be posted on the Web.posted by kindall at 3:07 PM on October 16, 2000

Yeah, I'd hate to see some sort of crappy writing on the web. Dark days ahead, my friends, dark days ahead.posted by sonofsamiam at 3:10 PM on October 16, 2000

After all, we want to make sure that only the right people are publishing on the web.posted by harmful at 3:14 PM on October 16, 2000

>No you're right, we should be deadly serious 24x7 so >no one's feelings get hurt

No, skallas, but perhaps we should pick our targets a little more judiciously. The fact is, this kid could turn out to be a fine writer one day. Until then, she should be encouraged to grow in that direction. (Or at the very least not mocked openly).
There are plenty of things out there that are fully deserving of derision. I simply don't think a little girls' diary qualifies.
In other words, pick on someone your own size.posted by Optamystic at 3:48 PM on October 16, 2000

I thought knowledge of removal of oil-based paints was common. However, I'm male, so I think that knowledge was forced onto me by society. ah well, saved my butt a few times.posted by starduck at 4:03 PM on October 16, 2000

I disagree, if I find something that a youngster wrote to be unintentionally funny then I have the right to laugh about it and pass it around. In the real world I have often laughed at some of the things children do and depending on your level of bleeding-heartness you could think its cruel. "Poop is nothing to laugh at! What if Billy is too afraid to use the toilet again because of you, evil evil man!"

Its the parents responsibility to keep their child away from internet content that might disturb them, be it porn or a light-hearted chuckle at how not to remove paint from your hands.

Its this "save the children!!" hysterics thats leads so many to believe censorship and censorware are the only ways to keep things on the up-and-up while parents can sit around and watch sitcoms while their kids are raised by the internet.

You don't even know if she found the event to be funny in the first place, its not like she was mauled by a tiger and found that funny. For all we know she'll look back at those series of events and find them very amusing.

You are mocking a kids' first attempt at a blog. Therefore, you are quite possibly discouraging her and those like her from pursuing a burgeoning art form, which I happen to enjoy a great deal. If these kids become self-conscious about their posting, they may stop posting. That means that we are all robbed of the flow of new talent and ideas that promises to continue to enliven the community.
If we are deprived of the new (this kids' post) then we are stuck with the old (your daily dose of vitriol). Given the choice, I'll take the new.

you know, I really liked this story. it had some of my favorite elements: problem, suspense, resolution; exasperation, a scary man who turned out to be nice, comic elements, the prospect of continued exasperation for the scary/nice man.

it also those most basic elements of the story: beginning, middle, and end, elements which are missing in a very large percentage of entries I see on weblogs and online diaries kept by much older writers than this one appears to be.

Considering it has one entry and its from August, its safe to assume she isn't the selfless blogger you make her out to be. Also, I find your accusation to be very insulting, its one thing to post this funny story and its another to accuse me of some type of abuse. I did not email her and call her names and tell her to get the hell off the internet.

Using your own logic, your attack on my post on this weblog could discourage me from my weblog fantasies which makes you something of a hypocrite.

What I posted is about as dangerous as Bill Cosby's "Kids say the darndest things." Or whatever that old show was called. I'm sure very few people felt that show will ruin their attempts at speaking or a career in entertainment.

Skallas-
Perhaps I misinterpreted the spirit with which you posted the link. If so, I apologize.posted by Optamystic at 5:00 PM on October 16, 2000

I think the saying is "don't laugh at, laugh with", which pretty much applies, as long as you're not watching a clown.

ObChildhoodAnecdote, aged eight: I was the smart kid at school, and as I queued up to get my maths book marked, the girl in front was getting a load of red crosses from the teacher. And I giggled at her. And that teacher -- who'd done a lot to ensure I didn't get bored with schoolwork -- took me aside and quietly, forcefully told me that I had no right to mock others for trying, no matter what my ability. And the fact that I can remember that in pristine colour, twenty years on, shows the effect it had on me.

Here endeth the lesson.posted by holgate at 6:43 PM on October 16, 2000

here here holgate and optamystic. assuming the writer of this blog is in fact a child and not a high school girl, i heartily agree.
skallas wrote "Boo hoo, I though it was funny. No you're right, we should be deadly serious 24x7 so no one's feelings get hurt." and "Some people have a sense of humor and they use it."
don't compare yourself to Bill Cosby, skallas, it is clear your tone was not laughing with but laughing at. as to your sense of humor, leukemia is funny also isn't it? [referring to nasty thread about kaycee and her cancer blog 'living colours'] wherein you posted nasty thoughts about her writing.
you're just a big meanie!

Well its nice to know a defender of children and cancer patients alike isn't above name calling, and if you know me so well why do you bother to read links I post if I'm just a bad person? You should know your limitations, likes, and dislikes and work with them not against them. Its best for all concerned.

As to the Kaycee story, paint it anyway you like but having a dissenting opinion always gets one labeled something by the consensus, in this case a "meanie." Thanks.posted by skallas at 9:18 PM on October 16, 2000

you're very welcome. you big meanie.
you crack me up. you missed the thread. entirely. you know...the blog written by the child....never mind.
poopie head. [wait, i need to get my four year old in here....she'll have some zingers for you...]posted by daddyray at 11:52 PM on October 16, 2000

I'd also like to know who appointed you the sole judge of whether someone is laughing with or at? Are you a master of interpreting tone also? Its a fine line and I think your posts show your prejudice. You see what you want to see.posted by skallas at 12:36 AM on October 17, 2000

Skallas, having a dissenting opinion and being mean spirited aren't the same thing.

Remember that episode when Bill Cosby called that kid stupid. That was soooo funny.

If anyone's writing is immature and 'stupid', it's yours.posted by alan at 1:13 AM on October 17, 2000

I always liked the episode where Cosby took those kids to a vaudville show, and when they complained, he took off his belt and beat them. Or something like that. It's been a long time.posted by sonofsamiam at 7:06 AM on October 17, 2000

"Stupid steps" does not necassarily equal stupid person. Only stupid people do stupid things eh?posted by skallas at 9:16 AM on October 17, 2000

Well, darnitall, I think it's pretty stupid that so few people understand the bleeping difference between a blog/blogger and a diary/diarist (or journal/journaller, if you'd prefer).

it seems clear to me that certain individuals thrive here at metafilter specifically by posting comments designed to generate flames.

maybe if we ignore them, they'll just. go. away.posted by bwg at 1:36 AM on October 18, 2000

It seems to me that any delight taken in this is more than cancelled out by the harm caused.

For the record, I didn't take any delight in it.posted by keep at 4:45 AM on October 20, 2000

Hey all. I found this link for Misterpants and wanted to say
that the girl was a ten year old girl. I thought the article
was really funny and great and written from a ten year olds
point of view. I hope no one yells at this girl for writing about
something that happened to her- its just a funny story, for
crying out loud, you don't have to go be all lousy about it.posted by scout177 at 12:11 AM on October 21, 2000

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